1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to the field of paper purchasing and distribution and, more specifically, to a multi-party, multi-tier system for managing paper purchase and distribution.
2. Description of the Related Art
For many years, publishers, paper suppliers, and printers have worked together to meet production schedules for paper publications which require paper to be delivered to printers in sufficient quantities and at appropriate times. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, the paper procurement and distribution channels do not always operate efficiently, leaving printers ready to go to press with inadequate paper inventories on hand. Often, the problems may be traced to publishers ordering too little paper or placing orders for paper too late for a paper supplier to make delivery to printers by press time. At other times, the problems may result from suppliers shipping paper to the wrong printer or shipping the wrong paper to the correct printer. On still other occasions, the problems may be traced to printers failing to properly manage on-hand paper inventories. However, more often than not, the problems may be attributed to failures in the communication between publishers, suppliers, and printers.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a system which improves the paper procurement and distribution process and which resolves these and other related problems and deficiencies.